Sicily's Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions Day 14

Day 14 - October 3, 2015 - Saturday - Ride to Linguaglossa; Visit Piano Provenzana; Donkey Ride at Mount Etna; BBQ Lunch; Farewell Drink and Dinner

This morning the aroma of fresh baked croissants greeted us when we opened our window at 7:00 am. The skies were blue and the sun was bright - great signs for another beautiful day; our last in Sicily.

Donning our cold weather duds, we met Pepé at 8:30 for our trip to the volcano. Called "Mama Etna" by the locals, she is usually calm but occasionally erupts. She has been generous - giving stone, water, fertile soil, and now all of the financial benefits of the tourists coming to visit Sicily.

We had not gone more than 10 minutes when Pepé stopped just so we could take photos of the volcano from a distance. At least three of the five craters had plumes of smoke billowing from the youngest of the active volcanoes of the world.

Maurizio had a full complement of maps and visuals explaining volcanology. He reviewed the movement of the earth’s tectonic plates. In the city of Linguaglossa, we picked up our new best friend, Santo.

The morning stop for restrooms and coffee was at the Ragabo Rifugio Ristorante at 4,607 feet. The temperature was 64 degrees with 87% humidity. Located in the Mount Etna National Park, we could see that the clouds were building.

Our drive up the mountain went through the eruption of 2002 and lava flow that lasted for 18 days. Santo gave us even more information about the volcano. He related the story of the restaurant where he worked that was destroyed in the eruption.

We got off of the bus and hiked to Piano Provenzana, the resort destroyed in 2002. We met Santo's son Salvo who was in charge of the Donkey Trekking. The elevation was 5,860 feet and the temperature was 61 degrees with 81% humidity.

By the time we arrived the volcano was totally obscured with the cloud cover. There were five donkeys so we took turns riding and hiking. Because of the mist, there were no views, but we made the best of the experience.

There was time at noon to hike up the lava flow with Santo and listen to his story of October 24, 2002 when the earth quaked, the ash cloud covered the valley, and then the lava began to flow. Warnings were given in time to evacuate the resort and thankfully, no one was injured or killed.

Modern seismographic equipment and satellite imagery can predict possible eruptions. The army corps of engineers constructed tunnels and pathways to divert further lava flows.

We left Mount Etna at 12:30 and drove back down the volcano for lunch in Linguaglossa at Santo's farm home. We met Santo's wife, Serafina and Marta, their Godchild. Our lunch was a delicious chickpea soup, BBQ sausage and pork ribs, and a veal meatball with a green salad.

At 3:00 we thanked Santo's and his family and drove back to the hotel. Maurizio gave final instructions to those six who will be leaving in the morning. He has been busy making sure all of the details for taxis and flights are perfect.

Maurizio also reminded the 10 of us who are going on to the post trip of Calabria about the logistics for the ferry ride tomorrow morning. We begin the seven day post trip to the toe of Italy on Sunday.

Vic worked on the photos of the day; we packed for our travel day tomorrow, and got ready for the Farewell Drink and Dinner marking the end of the main trip in Sicily.

Everyone met in the lobby at 6:15 for our Farewell Drink and then walked to Caffé Curtigghiu for our diner. The wine was flowing freely and the waiters brought out an OAT Goodbye Cake for dessert.

Saying goodbye to fellow travelers is always sweet sorry. Hopefully, we will meet some of these new friends on future trips.

We got back to the room by 9:30, finished the journal, and got into bed – a new adventure in Italy begins tomorrow.

Accommodations: Katane Palace Hotel - - - Meal: B, L, D